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Arsenal appear to be well down the road to signing Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona, essentially killing two birds with one stone in their need to address the centre-forward position and add depth beyond Theo Walcott for the flanks.

If there was any doubt about Alexis’ credentials, especially after a frustrating and completely forgettable 2012-13 campaign with Barcelona two years ago, the World Cup in Brazil has shown the Chilean to be exactly the kind of marquee forward Arsenal’s supporters have been crying out for.

We’ve been here before though, and many will be sceptical until pictures of Alexis with an Arsenal shirt in hand emerge. Last summer, Arsenal were said to be on the brink of signing Gonzalo Higuain, only for the Argentine to land at Napoli instead. The north London club had accused Real Madrid of moving the goal posts on the deal at the last minute.

But Alexis would more than make up for that loss. With Olivier Giroud also experiencing a good World Cup with France, Arsenal, on paper at least, would look a far more threatening outfit over the course of next season.

The Chilean would also negate the need for Angel Di Maria, who is another big-name South American who looks set to leave La Liga.

Arsenal were interested last year and could have landed the Real Madrid winger had it not been for Carlo Ancelotti’s intervention, instead securing the signing of Mesut Ozil. What is certain is that Arsenal need two forwards, one capable of playing on the wing. In the case of Alexis and Di Maria, one would cancel the other out.

Di Maria does provide different qualities to the Chilean. This past season he showed himself to be a more than capable central midfielder, playing alongside of Xabi Alonso and Luka Modric and given the freedom to roam. He was sensational against Barcelona in particular, while his best season in the white of Real was capped with victory in the Champions League.

There’s no doubt that Di Maria is a player who would improve Arsenal over the coming seasons. He and Mesut Ozil would interchange roles in the attacking three while both were playing at the Bernabeu, and there’d be an opportunity for both midfielders to strike up a similar partnership.

But Arsenal would be getting that and much more in Alexis, who, unlike Di Maria, can play at centre-forward and relieve some pressure from Giroud.

To venture down the avenue of suggesting Arsenal don’t need Di Maria would be wrong; it wasn’t too long ago that many, including myself, were talking up the value of having Cesc Fabregas return to the club. Above all, Arsenal need strength in depth.

But Real want £40 million for Di Maria, while Alexis would be a little under £30 million. With a high-class defensive midfielder needed, as well as a right-back and another forward (possibly Loic Remy), the focus must be on what the team need first and foremost. In addition, Fabregas was available for a deal that was far better value for money than Di Maria’s price tag.

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If the club can wrap up a deal for Alexis in the coming weeks, it will be a positive sign to the supporters, who need convincing after the failure to properly strength during the last two windows and the complete collapse last season.

If what is said to be on the table does come to fruition, missing out on Angel Di Maria will be dusted away with the kind of renewed confidence that can only be delivered by star forwards such as Alexis.

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James Morrison has said that West Brom have “to move on as quickly as possible” from defeat to Newcastle on Sunday, insisting they have a chance at home to Southampton.

Morrison believes they have an opportunity to win because of their record at home.

He said to The Birmingham Mail: “It’s a good opportunity to get three points and forget about what happened on Sunday. We need to move on as quickly as possible.

The Baggies star has also admitted that morale amongst the team was low after the loss at the weekend.

He said: “The dressing room was very flat and we almost wanted to shed a tear as we played really well. We were the only team that looked like winning. The second goal was particularly difficult to take. He shanked the ball and I don’t know whether it hit one of our defenders or Cisse but it hit the back of the net and I think that’s our luck at the moment. We kicked on from there and we had chances to win the game.”

Midfielder Morrison signed a deal lasting four years last month, with boss Steve Clarke calling him one of the side’s “best players.” It has been five years since Morrison left Championship side Middlesbrough to join West Brom, and he had had two more years left on his last deal.

Manager Steve Clarke is hoping to be able to bring back skipper Chris Brunt, Claudio Yacob, Jerome Thomas, Boaz Myhill and Billy Jones for Monday’s match.

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Newcastle United have suffered a blow in their pursuit of Middlesbrough winger Adama Traore as Paris Saint-Germain have entered the race for his signature, according to Arab News.

What’s the story?

Adama Traore joined Middlesbrough in 2016 and the pacy and tricky winger has shone, scoring five and assisting ten goals last season.

The 22-year-old Spaniard has been rumoured to be a target for Newcastle but now according to Arab News, PSG are interested in signing the hot prospect.

According to the report, Traore is understandably excited by the prospect of playing at one of Europe’s top clubs and this would make it very hard for Newcastle to convince him to stay in the north-east of England.

What does this mean?

Traore would be a great signing for Newcastle if they could get him, with his great pace and direct running offering a real threat going forward.

However, when a club like PSG come calling, you don’t often say no.

The report states that PSG are looking at the Boro player to bring their finances in line with UEFA financial fair-play regulations, which gives the rumour more than a ring of truth.

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If PSG are genuine in their interest, Newcastle don’t stand a chance of landing the player, but it may be worth them keeping an eye on developments in case any deal falls through.

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According to Aksam, Arsenal have offered a contract to their former player Oguzhan Ozyakup, who will see his Besiktas deal expire at the end of the season.

What’s the story?

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has spent heavily in the last two transfer windows, with Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang both arriving for huge fees.

It remains to be seen whether the Gunners spend big again this summer, but there is no question that the capital club are still in need of players to boost their squad.

According to Aksam, Arsenal have offered their former player Ozyakup, who is valued at £9m by transfermarkt.co.uk, the chance to return to the club.

The 25-year-old will see his current deal with Besiktas expire at the end of the season, and it is understood that the two parties are currently struggling to come to an agreement.

What is his history at Arsenal?

Ozyakup spent four years with Arsenal between 2008 and 2012, but the Turk only made two first-team appearances for the Gunners before moving on to Besiktas.

The midfielder signed schoolboy forms with Arsenal in September 2008, and was a regular in their youth set-up before appearing in two League Cup matches during the 2011-12 campaign.

Ozyakup was actually on the bench when Arsenal lost 8-2 at Manchester United in the Premier League in August 2011, but he never made a league appearance for the Gunners.

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The 30-time Turkey international has developed into a key midfielder for Besiktas – making more than 200 appearances for the club in all competitions.

He scored 10 times for the Turkish giants during the 2015-16 season, whilst he has impressed during his 27 first-team appearances this term.

It seems strange that Besiktas have allowed Ozyakup to enter the final months of his contract, but that could see Arsenal profit as they look to re-sign a player that has developed into an impressive performer since he left the Gunners in 2012.

I’m not convinced by the romantic notion that Ryan Giggs can step in and guide Manchester United out of the nadir. I’m not convinced that a man with no prior experience of managing a major European club can be bettered by a man with no managerial experience at all.

Unfortunately we’re living in a time where Pep Guardiola is the rule rather than the exception. There will be campaigns aplenty to argue Giggs’ case. Part of the composition will be the routine 4-0 win over Norwich on the weekend, while much of the other will be that the 40-year-old and Manchester United can offer a reimagining of what happened at Barcelona.

But there is actually no sense behind Giggs taking over the managerial job, at least nothing that goes beyond the clichés and fairly pointless ties the midfielder has to the club.

In an interim capacity, with nothing to lose let alone anything to gain, it’s a safe bet. Giggs looked the part, both in suit on the touchline and in the pre-match press conference. He said all the right things where the previous manager couldn’t. He was bold in his team selection on the weekend, dropping the invention of Juan Mata for the pace of Danny Welbeck. And what’s interesting is that no one said a thing.

Instead of statements being made of Giggs, which have very little relevancy when it comes to selecting a manager other than for the appeasement of supporters, questions should be asked of his credentials.

What are his ideas for taking United forward and importantly getting them back to where they should be at the top of the Premier League tree? How does he plan to set up his team? It’s facile to say United will play attacking football under Giggs simply because he knows that football of that nature is engrained in the club. What will his methods be for rediscovering that attacking instinct?

As an example, Barcelona have a host of attacking players who are rightly considered the best in the world, yet Tata Martino has either struggled or been unable to bring about their maximum potential on the pitch this season. They’ve struggled for parts of the second half of the season, both domestically and in Europe, and players alone are no guarantee of the successful deployment of attacking football.

Whatever happens in United’s final three games of the season, it would be wrong to use such a small window to measure Giggs’ credentials. If the players go out and win the final games, will it be because of their respect for him, respect that wasn’t present for David Moyes? United are a club with a huge pool of talent with which to choose when shopping in the market, and who’s to say every player will come in and immediately take to Giggs as a manager? Does he have the ability to control a dressing with potentially half a dozen egos and personalities?

We don’t know how Giggs will handle European football, which United won’t have to worry about for some time anyway. The Champions League can show the best in England to be inferior to the best from the continent, and that counts for managers as well as teams. Giggs might look the part, but will he act the part? Is he able to counter the tactics of a top European manager, or will his vast inexperience be found out?

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Giggs’ history with the club does set him up to become manager at United at some point, but not now. The club can’t afford to take another sizeable gamble on the basis of romantic ideals. They need to be pragmatic. If Louis van Gaal is to become the next manager then by all means Giggs should be part of the coaching staff. Get him to learn from a man who tutored both Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola. Like the latter, give Giggs an opportunity to coach one of the youth teams and let him work his way up. If there’s success at a lower level then the argument for him to be manager of a senior team will be more convincing that anything we’ve heard thus far.

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As Andre Villas-Boas and Tottenham Hotspur are perhaps currently finding out, cultivating change at a football club, can be something of a patience-testing and often very tedious process indeed.

Part of the Portuguese’s remit upon employment by chairman Daniel Levy, was to instill a more modern-day, tactical nous within a squad cultured to the tastes of previous incumbent Harry Redknapp’s, more old-school take on proceedings. Although it’d be fair to say that the transformation so far, is a lot more Grand Designs than it is 60-Minute Makeover.

Of course, it would be naïve to think that making the transition from Redknapp’s 4-4-1-1 to the more continentally refined 4-2-3-1 of AVB would be a simple walk in the park, but it’s produced its fair share of teething problems. But where as you’d like to think that progress down in N17 wouldn’t be akin to one of those gormless developments that go both overtime and over budget, it’s probably worthy of one those overcautious Kevin McCloud monologues.

Is it time to tweak the architect’s plans slightly at White Hart Lane? A reversion back to the more traditional set-up of two up front may appear like regression to some, although as a temporary measure, it certainly might not do any harm at all.

One of the biggest criticism’s that plagued Harry Redknapp’s time in charge at Spurs, was the perceived lack of a ‘Plan B’ or some form of tactical escape route. The 65-year-old was hardly as naïve as many people made out, but his penchant for simplicity was certainly no urban myth – his recent “Bullshit baffles brains” sentiments, offers a decent window into the world of Redknapp.

His philosophy was to send the players out, first and foremost, to simply play. Tottenham’s recent success was hardly catalysed by some top-secret, magical tactical blueprint. Spurs prospered through pacey and traditional wing play, an extremely well balanced central midfield and a dynamic pairing up in attack. When they were found out, Redknapp’s side would often come to a grinding halt, but for the most part, it was very successful indeed.

Yet perhaps the biggest hindrance in Andre Villas-Boas’ efforts to evolve this side into his 4-2-3-1 set-up, comes in the very players he still has at his disposal. Because in essence, even after the summer transfer window, he has a squad of players that still feel more roundly suited to the Redknapp set-up of last season. At the very least, it marks a Plan B that would arguably beat many Premier League teams’ Plan A.

Before the lynch mob set in, this is not a call for Villas-Boas to abandon the style of playing he’s trying so hard to implement. During their 4-2 loss to Chelsea during the weekend, the Lilywhites had five first teamers out, including the already talismanic Mousa Dembele, of whom the formation relies so much upon. The impatient among us will be loathsome to hear another article promoting the virtue of patience, although the side need time to adapt.

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But while the likes of Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon, Kyle Walker and countless others within this Spurs side acquaint themselves with what a whole new way of playing, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the ways of yesteryear need to be abandoned completely.

An occasional switch to a 4-4-2 or a 4-4-1-1 from time to time wouldn’t signal some white flag of surrender in AVB’s quest for tactical change. Of course, the more the side play in the new way, the more they will improve in both confidence and execution, but from time to time, a switch wouldn’t herald such a bad move.

Against Chelsea, for example, Villas-Boas would have been able to field a team that could have potentially been a little more effective if set-up a little more traditionally. You can only work with the tools available to your disposal and with players such as Bale and especially Dembele out, the team didn’t look quite so suited to a 4-2-3-1.

Huddlestone would have certainly looked a lot more confident in a more general, traditional midfield role than the defensive pivot that he was told to play against Chelsea. The England man did a poor Mousa Dembele impression primarily because his abilities aren’t suited to such a role. Similarly with Clint Dempsey. The American looked awkward on the left-side of Villas-Boas’ attacking three and even when switched more centrally, he seemed to pine for a role slightly closer to goal.

Dempsey netted many of his 17 Premier League goals last season for Fulham, playing as something as a second striker or just behind the frontman in a supporting role. When we did see Villas-Boas switch to this set-up in the second half of the 2-1 win against QPR, Dempsey was in his element behind Jermain Defoe.

Furthermore, despite scoring five league goals himself so far, Jermain Defoe offers a different kind of threat up front in a revised system. With less onus on him to hold up the play and bring others into it, he could revert back to his more natural game, in running at defences and causing a very direct threat. Equally, you could go for the more traditional 4-4-2 and play both Defoe and Adebayor together. We saw little of it last season, but when we did, it didn’t work too badly at all and it offers another viable option for the manager.

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It’s at risk of playing devil’s advocate and the irony won’t be lost on some, but if Dembele still isn’t fit for the trip to Southampton this weekend, a temporary switch back to a more direct style of playing might not be such a bad idea after all.

The fact that the 4-2-3-1 appears to hinge so prominently upon the Belgian suggests that perhaps deeper problems lie in Spurs’ engine room and the failure to capture more players capable of fluidly stepping in to play the system, isn’t all Andre Villas-Boas’ fault. Such troubles can be addressed in January but if the need arises, he shouldn’t be afraid to go back to the future.

Would you be comfortable with a temporary switch back to a more traditional set-up at Spurs? Or should Villas-Boas be unwavering in his implementation of the new system? Let me know what you think on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus for all things Spurs.

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Italian giants Juventus are ready to rival Manchester United in the chase to sign promising Austrian youngster Marcel Sabitzer, according to talkSPORT.

The 18-year-old forward is out of contract at his current Austrian club side Admira Wacker at the end of the season and is valued at £1million.

He has scored eight goals since the start of last season and his form lead to him earning a first senior international cap in Austria’s 0-0 draw with Romania in June, however he has since dropped back down to the Under-21 squad.

While United are keen to secure the services of Sabitzer, reports in Italy suggest that Juventus have emerged as frontrunners to sign him and could make a move for him as early as January.

His current club are reluctant to lose him, but the lure of playing for one of Europes major clubs will be a temptation for the young player.

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Sabitzer adds his name to a string of players linked with Sir Alex Ferguson’s side recently, with the United chief looking keen to strengthen his squad this winter as his side bids to reclaim their Premier League title from bitter rivals Manchester City.

Germany defender Marvin Plattenhardt is currently being linked with a move away from Bundesliga club Hertha Berlin in this summer’s transfer window.

Everton are believed to be interested – as reported by Sky Sports News – and the Merseyside club’s supporters have been quick to reveal their feelings on the potential deal.

Plattenhardt is currently with the Germany squad at the 2018 World Cup, and he will enter this summer’s international competition off the back of a fine season at Hertha.

Indeed, the left-back, who is valued at £13.5m by transfermarkt.co.uk, registered eight assists in 38 appearances for Hertha last season, with seven of those assists coming in the Bundesliga.

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Everton could well be in the market for more than one left-back this summer when considering that Leighton Baines is being linked with a move away from the club.

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Watford are also said to be interested in Plattenhardt, but Everton will fancy their chances of beating the Hornets to the defender’s signature.

The Everton fans clearly want the deal to occur this summer, and a selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is hopeful that Marouane Fellaini will soon sign a new contract with the 20-time English champions.

Fellaini will see his current deal at Old Trafford expire at the end of the season.

The 30-year-old is believed to have rejected at least one offer from United, and he has been strongly linked with a move to Turkish football.

Fellaini is a favourite of Mourinho, however, with the Belgium international offering a physical presence in both penalty boxes.

The United boss has paid tribute to Fellaini on a number of occasions in recent months, and the Portuguese is hopeful that the former Everton midfielder will soon pen a fresh contract with the team that are currently second in the Premier League table.

Mourinho told reporters:

“He’s a very important player for me and a great professional who is giving everything to help the team.

“There’s a desire from myself, the board and the player to stay together and that’s our objective. Are we going to agree? I don’t know. But what I know is myself, the board and the player we would like to have a happy end.”

“He knows that I want him and the club wants him. I think this is also important for him. But you only sign a paper when you are happy with what is written in the paper.”

Fellaini, who is valued at £10.8m by transfermarkt.co.uk, is expected to be in the United squad that travels to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Wednesday night.

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Everton are preparing a £10.5million bid for QPR striker Loic Remy, reports the Irish Independent.

The French forward is currently on loan at Newcastle United, where he has scored 13 league goals. The striker is expected to receive multiple offers this summer, especially if QPR fail to get promotion back to the Premier League.

The Toffees want to sign Romelu Lukaku on a permanent deal from Chelsea, have been told to pay £20million for the Belgian, twice as much as they are going to bid for Remy. Chelsea are preparing a £40million move for Diego Costa, but are reluctant to lower there valuation of Lukaku, who has impressed on loan for both Everton and West Brom.

Remy is valued lower than Lukaku because the Frenchman has a release clause, which Newcastle and Tottenham have been rumoured to be interested in activating, as well as Roberto Martinez’s side. The Frenchman has also been linked with Arsenal in past transfer windows.

Martinez is eager to make multiple signings this summer, with Everton fans anticipating European football next season. Everton are currently sitting in an Europa League space, and are just 4 points behind 4th place Arsenal, with a place in next year’s Champions League not an impossibility for the Toffees. The Spaniard has been linked with moves for Gareth Barry on a permanent deal, and an attempt to bring Jack Rodwell back to Goodison Park.

For your chance to WIN two tickets to Everton vs Manchester United on Sunday April 20 AND a copy of FIFA14, simply comment below with your score prediction for the game…

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[ffccomp link=”https://www.footballfancast.com/football-blogs/win-tickets-to-everton-vs-manchester-united-a-copy-of-fifa-14″oneliner=”For your chance to WIN two tickets to Everton vs Manchester United on Sunday April 20 AND a copy of FIFA14, simply comment below with your score prediction for the game…” step=”PREDICT THE SCORE

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